L&M Publications
Merrick Life • Bellmore Life • Freeport-Baldwin Leader • Wantagh-Seaford Citizen

At first glance, David and Pat Hines’s home in North Bellmore looks like an attractive, typical Long Island home.  The only obvious sign that their tidy Cape offers more than just curb appeal was the one by their driveway on Saturday welcoming visitors as part of the annual National Solar Tour and Green Buildings Open House event. Selected by the nonprofit Renewable Energy Long Island (reLI) as one of the 25 locations throughout Long Island to participate in the annual event, the couple on Walthofter Avenue offered others the chance to see how taking an energy-efficient approach not only helps cut costs, but creates a comfortable, low maintenance home. 

For the Hineses, the turning point came after raising their two daughters and then questioning whether it made sense to move or stay and renovate. “We never really had anything done to our house,” said Mr. Hines. “It was always about the kids.”  To help them decide, they hired a professional engineer and a real estate appraiser, and then spent three months considering their options. When the figures came in, the couple not only decided to stay, but to go forward in a whole new way. “We made a conscious decision to be as energy-efficient as possible,” said Mr. Hines.  Working with SUNation, the Hineses installed 36 solar panels to a portion of their roof facing the backyard, making the change invisible from the street. Prior to the four-day installation process, a large tree that shaded their house had to be removed. 

Mrs. Hines says the decision to remove the tree wasn’t too hard, as it had been damaged by wind and storms.  While this was their first summer with the new system, Mr. Hines reported they had no need to use their backup hot water heater for the entire season. Their system has been calculated to generate about 7,000 kW annually.  An average home on Long Island uses about 9,600 kW a year.  According to Mike Bailis, vice president of sales and marketing for SUNation, the system ran about $40,000, although tax breaks and rebates, he said, can translate into homeowners picking up only about one-third of the cost.  Previously, the Hineses’ utility bills ran about $6,000 a year. A two-thirds reduction in heating and cooling their home is expected, which should lower their costs to about $2,000 annually.

Mr. Bailis said, “The normal projected payback on systems is about 6-7 years, although much depends upon individual factors.”    In addition to the solar panels, the couple said they have made a number of other energy-saving changes. “We converted from an oil system to gas with a high-efficiency burner,” says Mr. Hines.  They also switched from using an electric dryer to gas and installed two split-system air conditioners with six zones to cool their entire house. “The new air conditioners eliminate us from having those ugly, huge units in the windows,” says Mrs. Hines, who appreciates the renovation from a design point of view. 

Mr. Hines, who says their home is still a “work in progress,” is delighted with the low maintenance aspects offered by the changes. Smaller updates, such as putting their computers on power strips and turning them off when not in use, and switching from incandescent bulbs to CFL, also contributes to their energy savings.   Gordian Raacke, executive director of reLI, says the tour on Long Island was supported by LIPA and the American Solar Energy Society at the national level.  In 2000, when the tour launched in Long Island, Mr. Raacke said, “…we had to go out and find people and now people call us and we actually have to turn them down.” The selection process, he said, has changed this year as they looked for homeowners who go beyond just using solar to reduce energy consumption. 

For those who missed the tour, Mr. Raacke said an e-tour is available on at www.RenewableEnergyLong Island.org.  The site also offers a solar calculator to help homeowners estimate what their own savings might be should they make the switch.

By Sharon G. Jonas